Best of AOP - Galaxies

Abell 671

Rarely do galaxies in our Universe live in isolation. Instead the large scale universe (of normal matter) is quite clumpy with galaxies tending to congregate in large clusters and superclusters. The rich cluster of galaxies shown here is not nearby. Abell 671 is estimated to be around 600 million light years away. Even at this great distance, hints of galaxies of various types can be detected. The greater number of elliptical (fuzzy round ones) galaxies is probably due to the numerous gravitational interactions that have taken place through their mutual orbital dances (such as the pair to the right of center).